--- title: Making a difference is what being a HopSkipDrive CareDriver is all about description: >- For Maria Lapides, being a CareDriver means making a difference in somebody's life. And that's what HopSkipDrive is all about. date: '2022-01-18' author: Karen Sampson category: Blog tags: - CareDrivers - CareDriver profiles - caregivers on wheels canonical_url: >- https://www.hopskipdrive.com/blog/making-a-difference-as-a-caredriver-is-what-hopskipdrive-is-all-about/ source: hopskipdrive license: © 2026 HopSkipDrive. All rights reserved. slug: making-a-difference-as-a-caredriver-is-what-hopskipdrive-is-all-about id: 28FCt4rgAK0n3s8ub9iAKI contentType: article --- ### View more related articles - [View All](/blogs/) - [School Transportation Insights](/tags/school-transportation-insights/) - [Company Updates](/tags/company-updates/) - [Success Stories](/tags/success-stories/) - [Product and Technology](/tags/product-and-technology/) - [The CareDriver Community](/tags/the-caredriver-community/) - [Public Policy](/tags/public-policy/) - [Life at HopSkipDrive](/tags/life-at-hopskipdrive/) There are so many things that [Maria Lapides](/blog/caredriver-profile-maria-lapides/) loves about being a HopSkipDrive CareDriver. Some of the [benefits](/drive/) she talks about are obvious, such as the ability to have a flexible schedule and set her own hours. Others are less tangible, but no less important. The opportunity to be there for — or listen to — children and others who need her help is, she says, one of the main things that makes being a [CareDriver](/blog/hopskipdrive-caregivers-on-wheels/) such a rewarding experience.  Transcript: You have to make a positive influence. You have to make a difference in somebody’s life, and I think that’s really more for me what HopSkipDrive is all about. It’s about making a difference in somebody’s life. Hi, I’m Maria. I’m a HopSkipDrive CareDriver. I’ve been at HopSkipDrive for about five years. I initially started when you first launched [here in Los Angeles](https://www.hopskipdrive.com/drive/los-angeles-ca/). What do I like most about being a CareDriver? There are so many things I love about it. I love the flexibility. I can make my own hours. It’s a different career, but it’s a career that’s needed. So many people need somebody like me in their life to just be that person to say, “Ahh” and breathe. . . Somebody nonjudgmental who would be open to hearing what it is they have to say. For so many kids, they have nobody to talk to, and if I can lend that ear, it makes it so rewarding for me. That’s why this company, HopSkipDrive, and being a HopSkipDrive CareDriver, is in itself an unbelievable, unbelievable job. No matter how we can better this world and society for these children or whoever it is you’re driving, you have to make a positive influence. You have to make a difference in somebody’s life, and I think that’s really more for me what HopSkipDrive is all about. It’s about making a difference in somebody’s life, whether or not it’s the parent who cannot be in two places at once, or the child who is really looking for that person to say, “It’s okay.” That second person that can just be there for them when their mom and dad cannot be. That, to me, is what HopSkipDrive is all about. ## Subscribe to our newsletter - [SUBSCRIBE](#)